
44 BRITISH FERNS 
the mound, holes being dug sufficiently deep to embed the pieces 
firmly on their centres of gravity, soil is then worked well in behind 
them, and it is advisable that this soil be a good compost of friable 
loam, leaf mould, and coarse silver sand (2, 2, I), since it is this 
into which the Ferns will have to be planted later. Regularity of 
position or size should be avoided as far as possible, and the stone 
should be so arranged on similar lines of firm bedding, as to form, 
as the work proceeds, pockets, nooks, and crevices such as ferns 
delight in. The construction finished, the whole should be well 
watered and allowed to settle for a few days, when planting may 
be done. Planting can, of course, be done as the work of con- 
struction proceeds, but we prefer to do it separately, to preclude 
the risk of damage by local settlements and dislodgements. Ferns 
vary as to their requirements of moisture in the soil. Osmunda 
regalis, the Royal Fern, is naturally a bog Fern, and so is Lastrea 
thelypteris. Blechnum spicant, the Hard Fern, Athyrium filix 
femina, the Lady Fern, and Lastrea montana, the lemon-scented 
Fern, all prefer moist soil, and hence should be planted low down, 
while the other species may be distributed at higher levels, the 
Spleenworts being inserted in the chinks and crevices contrived. for 
them. The various Polypodies should have special stations filled 
with leafy soil in which their travelling roots can spread, and if 
the Limestone Polypody is planted, some old mortar, chalk, or other 
limey material should be mixed with the soil. The size of the Ferns 
used must also be considered in arranging them, and it is better 
that at the outset the rockery should look a little bare, than to 
cover it with plants which almost immediately invade each other’s 
domain, mix their fronds together, and hence lose all charm, while 
the smaller species probably perish by the overgrowth of their 
neighbours. Ferns of the shuttlecock form of growth should be 
planted as single crowns; if they are in clumps of several, it is 
quite easy to part the individuals by pulling asunder or prising off 
with a blunt trowel. If connected by a stout neck, a cut in this 
with a sharp knife will facilitate division, and each crown will come 
away with its own roots. 
Although rockeries are undoubtedly more effective than flat 
beds when occupied by Ferns, they are by no means essential for 
garden culture as regards a number of species. The Lady Ferns, 
Shield Ferns, Lastreas of several species, Hard Ferns, the Common 
Polypody, the Hartstongue, all will do very well on the flat if good 
open leafy, loamy soil be available, and water be supplied in cases 
of extended dry weather. We are assuming an annual rainfall of 
about twenty-five inches, but in places where this is exceeded there 
is very little risk of damage by drought at all, especially if masses 
of porous rock, or the burrs aforesaid, are scattered over the soil, 
and thus prevent general evaporation. The best place for a Fern 
is under the north or east side of a large piece of rock, which shelters 

